Vila dos Velinhos

Wednesday, December 12:

I did something extremely normal for me that I haven't done since I left Canada. I went to the Nursing Home. And it felt amazing to be in that environment again. In Canada I worked, volunteered, and had friends there. And as much as it made me miss everyone that used to surround me and support me within the walls of Vista Village, it was such a good experience for me on a personal level.

Things are so different, yet so similiar. Here, they have the rooms for the residents. But there are 6 beds in a room, that aren't seperated by anything. They have a dresser and a bed, then the next persons dresser and bed. And the bathrooms are all public. But they have a dining room, extremely nice staff, and organized activities. Which is where I came in.

It's closing in on Christmas, so there was a Christmas party in the works! So a few exchange students were asked to come and help them work the event, bringing people to the dining room or bringing food to the rooms, handing out presents, and being smiley and happy for everyone to see. All 3 things felt extremely good to do here. I felt such a pull of the heart to go, and it was the best decision I've made on exchange yet.

 

Beijos,

Katrina

Pool & Pijama Party

Wednesday, December 12:

 

One of the exchange students lives in a house that has a pool. And we take advantage of pools on extremely hott days. How else do you cool off? Well.. cold showers do the trick to. But I opted for a day at the poolside with my friends. Who wouldn't?!

We invented a game called "Kiss the Turtle" out of the turtle-topped thermometer. You had to try and kiss him without using your hands. Now, that might seem easy, but the darn thing is the hardest thing to connect lips with! Frigid. He just won't give away his kisses ;)

There was 3 sections that you could climb up on the nearby wall and jump into the pool. It wasn't a big pool, but at it's deepest part it was over my head,  so it was perfect for cannonballs. One of the host-brothers of my friend was so cute, jumping like a madman into the water below, screaming like a little girl. So priceless.

 

 

& CHICKEN WARS.

This was also followed by some awesome hotdog eating. YUM. After 3 or 4 hours in the pool, exchange students get hungry. Thank god for a loving host-mom who made us hotdogs :)

Thursday, December 13:

It's Raining Men!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JUST KIDDING! But if it would have been, Sorocaba would have had a whole new supply of heavenly hotties wandering the street. It was pouring!

And I happened to be hanging out with exchange students, and what do exchange students do when it's raining outside?

Go for walks.
But not just any walks.
Walks in their pijamas.
And for small town Pincher Creek kids, a run to Wal Mart sporting PJ Pants and a tank top might not be so bad. But for city Brazilian kids, I don't think it's so normal. But since we're exchange students, we're not really ones to give a crap. We do it anyway :)

As I said. Only exchange students.

Beijos,

Katrina

Mother-Daughter Bonding Time

I spent some time with both my host moms lately!

Wednesday, December 5:

No, my Canadian mom didn't come down to visit, even though right about now I feel like all I need is one of our special I-know-you-need-a-mom-hug hugs... BUT I did spend the day with my first host mom, Jamila!

And we did something very womanly... WE WENT SHOPPING! I hadn't actually gotten a chance to look around the downtown of my city, so that's where she took me. I didn't take any pictures, but we did do a lot of talking.

I love my host mom (both of my host moms, actually). She is incredible and understanding and supportive, and even worries a bit too much in a motherly way. I talked to her about everything that had happened, everything that I had been feeling, the ups and downs of life in Brazil, Rotary, my fears and expectations, and she listened with an open ear, mind, and heart. It's good to have someone to talk to (in Portuguese!) who understands what I'm saying even if I don't make any sense.

And who has some good fashion sense. I'm not a white person, buuut I did buy a pair of white shorts and a black skirt thanks to her expert shopping advice. She has a keen eye and some serious instinct. Without her, I probably would have come home with absolutely nothing except a serious case of needing a Canadian shopping mall. Which... I still do want... I'm running out of shirts. :/ I'll go count my pennies and see if I can afford a new one. :)

Tuesday, December 11:

Now, it was Marcia-and-I bonding time... and you'll never guess what we did.

WE WENT SHOPPING!

Predictable... I know. But we are girls. And she had some shirts she wanted to exchange in a store. So I just happened to want to go with her. Worked out for us.

She did the shopping, since the store was expensive, and I did some looking at cute boys who worked there. Win-win. We also joked around and laughed, and I helped her pick out shirts that I thought were perfect for her. And she helped me look at examples of clothes I should look for next time I go to Centro (Downtown).

She even did me the favour of announcing to the cuties that I was a Canadian exchange student who spoke Portuguese. My popularity increased that much more from that point on! I always had someone to talk to while she was trying on clothes. All the girls working the store thought it was so cool that only 4 months had passed and I could already carry a conversation in Portuguese. I felt like a super star.

And she felt like the side-kick mom. It was a perfect combination.

Beijos!

Katrina

A Little Bit More Adventure

Sunday, December 2:

A movie turned into a extra long dinner, a few of the exchange students got together again since quite a few were still in the city. Basically a night of shinanigans, laughs, and good times! Which is nothing less than what I expected.
Found out that I have some serious "saudades" for my dad's hamburgers. Seriously, if you ever get the chance, go to my Canadian house and have him barbeque up something for you to eat. It's like heaven in a food source.

 

Monday, December 3:

 

So... last minute plans for an hour meeting turns into a sleepover that includes getting to know the Taiwanese exchange boy better? I could deal with that. I feel like that was a really good plan.

And I also got to spend some time with my Mexican, Mariana, too. So that was not too shabby at all.

So what happens when a few exchange students have a sleepover? Movie watching, star gazing, and a loooot of talking. Thank god for an apartment with a great view :)

Ju! 

 Attack of the Ju!

City by Day

 Dusk

& Dark

 

Tuesday, December 4:

 

Woke up to Germany shaking me to ask where his phone was at 7 in the morning. He would be heading back to his city soon, with A-mei (Taiwan), and I guess he couldn't find it. But at 7 am none of us were coherent enough to be much help. I basically looked around the room, checked under a couch cushion, gave up, and fell back asleep.

 

Good friends, I know :) We weren't disowned, we all got re-woken for a good bye kiss on the cheek (typical for Brazil), so I think we were forgiven for our lack of enthusiasm.

 

Then... game time! Nicky (Equador), Mariana (Mexico) and I returned to my house and ended up playing video games with my sister! My skills haven't improved from my sport of watching my brothers play... Mariana defintely won. And we definitely enjoyed some ice cream, too.

Isabella can be quite the character, even when she doesn't mean to be! I went to take a picture of Nicky's "intense gamer face", and right as I clicked the button on the camera, my sister took a huge bite of her chocolate ice cream. Too priceless to keep to myself.



 

Mariana has an unexplained love for my brothers dog, Thor, and she insisted on having a series of photos taken with him. I'll spare you the painful folder of them and just demonstrate how cute my dog is, and how hilarious Mariana is:

 

MOVIE TIME!
And yes, because it ended up being a group of girls (and Matt-the American), we went to Breaking Dawn Part 2... again. But! It was one of the best experiences none-the-less!

And it all started with me pulling a classic Katrina...

 



 

I still can't walk 5 feet with a bag of popcorn without spilling it on the floor. Classsssssic.

 

In the movie, the theatre only has a few people other than ourselves, but I think we definitely heightened their experience. We started cheering for a scene where Jacob Black ends up shirtless, and the people behind us laughed and joined in. The things I would never have done in Canada that are making my experience perfect here.

 

OH! And Santa Claus. Or I should say Papai Noel.

 



The beard? It's legit.

 

Beijos!

Katrina 

 

 

 

 

 

 







CANADA!

So we had a Rotary Meeting for all the inbounds coming up... so guess who stayed at my house?!

CANADA!!!!

Thursday, November 29:

I went to Rotary and talked a little bit (as much as I could in another language) about the differences between Canada and Brazil, what I liked, didn't like, thought worked better, and all that special jazz. I did fine, learnt my Portuguese has improved but still needs to get better, and that I appreiciate the art of public speaking in English.

But after... I picked up Ms. Jenna Wisnoski from the bus station! :D And from there, we had a weekend full of... adventure. Starting with going to the mall to eat Chicken Ceasar Salad (like true Canadians who were feeling fat) and watching half of Skyfall. Then coming home to watch scary movies. Which is more of her (and my brothers) laughing at me while I hide behind pillows and persistently tell them how I can't handle scary movies and don't know how I let them talk me into watching them.

Watching scary movies was actually my idea.

And after, to relax, we came out to my little house/room and I helped her practice gymnastics and we talked for a long time about life and exchange and just things that girls have sleepovers to talk about. Somethings never change. I think I'll be the old granny who still has friends over to sleep and watch movies and talk about weird things.

Friday, November 30:

So, I had Portuguese lessons and we had the same predicament as last week: I had to go to Jardim Campolim (a neighbourhood) which is close to my lessons a few hours before. But this time I wasn't all alone, and I was on a mission.

My mission was this:

Take Jenna to eat the beautiful Acai with Banana and make her love it. Which of course she did. After giving me the "judging look" for making her pay $5 for it. We also had Creme de Manga (kind of like Mango Soft Icecream) which was pretty good - but not as good.

Judging Look

I forgot to mention... I added strawberries this time <3

 

 

Then came the most important part of the whole thing: Wal-Mart.

Now... I know what you're thinking. We have Wal-Mart in Canada, so why is that such a big deal? Well... let me tell you. Jenna had never stepped foot inside a Wal-Mart in Brazil. And since that's not a big enough deal, they have Brazilian food and Christmas things and guess what I needed? A Christmas gift for the Secret Santa of the exchange students that we would be giving on Saturday! (the next day...).

So we're wandering, looking for things for me to put in a stocking I had boughten to give to the person... and what do we see?

The isle of blow-up toys. Sharks. Dolphins. Some weird thing I couldn't identify.

So as Canadians we don't just see blow-up toys. No. Jenna, being brilliant, sees the perfect opprotunity for a gift. For my secret santa person. I mean... lets be honest. WHO WOULDN'T BE STOKED TO GET A BLOW UP SHARK FOR CHRISTMAS?! I mean, we're in Brazil! Everyone has pools. So I repeat: WHO WOULDN'T BE STOKED TO GET A BLOW UP SHARK FOR CHRISTMAS?!

 

After our amazing find, we hopped off to lessons where we played charades and sang songs with everyone as practice for the Talent Show that would also take place on Saturday. I have videos that are going to make me laugh for the rest of my life.

 

And then the exchange students all went out to grab a bite to eat and hang out. Not all of us went, but a few of us did. We just had fun and laughed and talked with each other.

 

 Best Friends! Clearly...

 

Saturday, December 1:

 

ROTARY DAY!

So what I did neglect to mention was I had to make a Canadian food (with Jenna, who's name from here on out is simply Canada) and distinguish us from the USA while trying to keep in makeable for me. And in case you don't know me at all and are reading this... my cooking skills extend from toast to KD. and Ramon Noodles. That's it. That's all. Finn.

To sort out any confusion, the Rotary meeting was our "Festa de Natal" (Christmas Party) and would consist of everyone making food from their country, doing a talent show, and giving a Secret Santa gift.

I think the best part was trying to make gravy... because we decided on poutine. But Brazil doesn't really do gravy as a normal thing. And since they didn't have those perfect ready-to-go pouches that you just add water to... we had to get a little handy and creative. And make 3 different batches before it even tasted remotely right. And shredded a whole block of cheese. And baked 2 bags of french fries. You know, normal, everyday cooking.

 

And find a way to re-heat it (thank god we have friends that lived near to the building that our meeting was at who love us enough to lend us a spoon, microwave, and oven) at the right time so it wouldn't taste terrible. To be safe, I brought a box of maple cookies juuust in case we had a disaster.

The Three "Canadians"
Jenna, Me, Hanna (Rotex)

Which we didn't : it seemed like everyone loved it! It may not have looked overly appetizing, but with the help of Hanna (a Brazilian who came to Canada for exchange last year) we made it edible.

Equador's table

The Mexican Inbounds
Guillermo, Mariana, Soemy, Brenda, Luiz, Andrea, David, Juan, and Mitch (missing from photo)

 The Talent Show:

Mexican Song and a little dance

 Alemao (Germany) dressed up as a Mexican, danced with two Mexicans to a mix that included Gangman Style

 

And for Secret Santa, turns out the person I had (Francisco - Equador) had me in return, and I got a really awesome Equador t-shirt that I love with my heart and soul. I feel really worldly when I wear it... being Canadian... in Brazil... wearing an Equador t-shirt...

And thank to Jenna's stroke of genius, he loved his blow-up shark, too. So all was fine and dandy in our world.

 

Sadly, Sunday I took Jenna to the bus station... but a few other exchange students stayed in town so that's not where the fun ended! I'll report more... but this entry is a tad lengthy! New page time.

 

Beijos,

Katrina

Last Day of School

Thursday, November 29:

Okay. So here I go to what I've been told is a relatively small school. My grade has one class of 40 students.

Wait... what?!

Let's all be reminded that my graduating class was 14. 7  boys and 7 girls. So having a class of 40 and still being told it's small... well it blows my mind.
But thinking back, I became accostomed to seeing an average of 40 people in the classroom everyday. So imagine my surprise when I walk in and guess how many people showed up?
14.

I think that number is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. Although, I loved my graduation and my class. But it's slightly different when you go to school and none of your typical friends are there and you feel like you're sitting in an empty room.

Now! Since I'm an all powerful and intelligent exchange student, I got an idea! Without my normal, typical group being at school... I would have to make new friends! Now people... for most people this idea might be scary. But, let me reassure you that I'm an all powerful and intelligent (and outgoing) exchange student. So what did I do? I sat with a group of girls I hadn't gotten to know yet. And had a really good last day of school :)

 

Chemsitry Expiriment 

Empty Classroom

 

 

Beijos!

Katrina 

Acts of Love

Wednesday, November 28:

Not a day of fairytale adventures or jumping off cliffs into cold ocean water... but ranks way better in my books.

It all started with a quick trip to a fruit-market with my mom... which lead to picking up my sister and eating Pastel... which lead to me being in an extremely good mood and walking with my sister to the same Sorveteria I was at Monday. We walked and talked and ate.

Then arrived home to my mom baking a cake and making a special supper for my dad. I guess he was having an off day and she wanted to make him feel better! So we brought out the rarely-ever used blue cups, made his favourite cake, and cleaned the house. I ahve never been so blown away by an act of love so simple. She didn't buy him a vacation, she didn't take him out for dinner, she made him a cake and let him relax and just showed him how much she cared.

 

Now, if I ever get married, I hope it goes a little something like that.

 

Beijos,

Katrina

The Days of Yellow School Buses

I was reading a journal entry for Monday, Novmber 26 and I remember my thoughts as clear as though it was happening right now. That day I didn't do anything extraordinary, but for some reason that day rings in my mind. So I'm going to write what I wrote in my journal; get ready to read thoughts I didn't think I'd ever post.

Monday, November 26:

Today, I took a walk to the Sorveteria that is only about a half hour walk from my house. It wasn't an act of extraordinary proportions, I do this at least once a week, but today I just let my mind run free. I let myself think. Think about how I, out of all the kids that could be doing exchange, got to be here. How this life that I've been blessed with won't always exist. How I can't wait for tomorrow to do something, because in 7 short months I will run out of tomorrows. How this experience isn't about the popularity or the parties you get invited to, how life isn't about the crazy things we will never forget. How it actually all comes down to the little things that truly change us on the inside without our recognition.

And how exchange is changing me. Or at least... how I hope it is.

I know I won't always live in Sorocaba, Brazil. There will come a time where I will see more yellow school buses and less motorcycles. When Portuguese won't be the language that my brain is always trying to grasp. Where my host families won't be the people I rely on day to day to get me through the highs and the lows. I won't have a 9 year old sister banging on my window to wake me up, to play dolls. I'll see snow and have to use blankets to sleep at night. There will come a time where I'll reminisce about the things I did and didn't do.

I can't waste moments, because I don't have forever. I don't even have a lifetime.

It's now or never.

Beijos,

Katrina

Feliz Aniversario Pai :)

Saturday, November 24:

Birthdays are a big deal here, and my dads birthday was no exception! It was actually ridiculously fun for everyone. We went out to the family farm in the morning to decorate and start making food.

I will mention that I love being the exchange student because I definitely got spoiled a little bit by my uncle (who was running the barbeque). He was making all kinds of amazing churrasco foods (churrasco is the Brazilian barbeque... but you can't compare it to Canadian. It's just... sooo much better here) and he would continuously call me over to "taste test" everything. I have such an expert opinion, didn't you know? I should be qualified to be a judge for a churrasco-off.

If your mouth isn't watering, there is something severly wrong with you.

 

It wasn't a really sunny day or anything, but that doesn't mean it wasn't warm enough to go swimming. Bonus of living in Brazil: no sun doesn't mean cold. Brilliance.

 

 

 The young'ns were hungry... so I fed them

 

And just so you get an idea of how cool the farm is, here are some pictures:

 

 

So all-in-all.. a really good day... filled with really good food.

Beijos,

Katrina